Stares and Sleep
by We Can Be Gorgeous
Summary: Sweenett. two-shot. Sweeney sees her staring. What does he do about it? A little OOC. Rated for themes. Should I continue this story?
1. Chapter 1

'**ello! I thought I'd mix it up a bit since I'm doing a Sweeney one now! They need a happy ending, Sondheim! I turn off the DVD after "By the Sea" and murmur to myself "They live happily ever after" while in the fetal position! Anyway, this is the closest you will ever get to smut from me, you dirty dirty people! I giggle too much. Even during this I was laughing a bit.**

**Disclaimer: Must I be reminded that I don't own Johnny Depp? Why!**

We sit in the shop drinking whatever gin that Toby hasn't drunk yet. I glance her way. She's staring and looks away nervously. I know she loves me, even with all my problems. She thinks that all that ever crosses my mind is revenge on the Judge. That's not true. Thoughts of Lucy and Johanna find their way in there too. But I think about her almost as much as the Judge. After losing Lucy, I didn't think I could ever let someone into my heart again. Then, when I walked into the shop that fateful day, I saw her. So pale, eyes sunken, hair unruly. I had to remind myself that I needed to breathe. The pie she gave me was perfect though it was rancid. It was perfect because it was made by her.

"What are you smilin' at?" she interrupts my thoughts. I wipe the smile from my face.

"Nothing." Smart response, I mentally scold myself.

She gets up and walks to the counter to chop already chopped parsley.

It's my turn to stare. It takes what feels like forever but she finally feels my eyes on her.

"What?" she demands.

"Nothing," I reply innocently. She doesn't buy it.

"You've been acting strange all day, Mr. T. You sure you're okay?"

"As well as I can be."

She finally leaves me alone. She walks to her bedroom. I resist the urge to follow her. I'm falling in love with her. No! I can't be! You can't be! I scream at myself. My hands fly to my eyes in frustration. The doorknob turns. I regain my cynical composure. She gives me one of those long stares that seem to bore into my soul. I try to glare at her but between the beauty and mercilessness of her stare I can't. I turn to look out the window behind me.

"Mr. T can I tell you something?" she asks. I still feel her stare.

"No," I say flatly. I know my answer won' stop her.

"I think you love me," she says anyway.

My heart stops. How can she tell? Must be those stares.

"Mr. T? Mr. Todd? Mr. T can you hear me?"

I wonder how long I've been silent. I couldn't care less.

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" I look at her. The stare seems to have softened. If she's nervous, she hides it well.

"Yes, I love you."

She gasps lightly. I'm not sure but I think her eyes well up. I stand and offer her my hand. She obliges. I pull her up and into my chest. I feel the tears soak through my shirt. I start to dance with her. I rest my head on her shoulder.

"I love you, Nellie Lovett," I whisper to her.

"I love you, too," she mumbles into my shirt.

I remove one of my hands from the small of her back and lift her chin. My breath hitches in my throat. She's so beautiful. I stare longingly into her warm, chocolate eyes. He breathing sounds shallow. At least she can breathe. I bend my neck slightly and very gently press my lips to hers. She reacts passionately. It stuns me. Her hands reach up to my head pushing me gently as if she can't get close enough. I break the kiss to murmur my love. She mumbles hers back. We reconnect. She grabs the lapels of my jacket and pulls me into her bedroom. She shuts the door and pushes me onto the bed. Our clothes seem to disappear. I kiss every inch of her, and she covers me with her kisses too. We come together. Our names are gasped, spoken, and screamed by each other. We collapse into each other's arms.

I feel happier here than I ever thought possible. I hear her breathing become steady. She's asleep. I shift so she's more comfortable. I don't sleep. I stare at her. She's so pale, hair even messier, if possible, and eyes more sunken from sleep deprivation. I gingerly move a fallen hair from her face. I can't look away.

"I love you, Nellie. More than you could ever know. More than I could ever understand."

A thought Lucy tries to break through. I push it back. She's gone. I'll always love her but she'd want me to be happy. Her eyes flutter open. She smiles at me while the light from the fireplace plays with her skin tone.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks.

"Lucy," I answer honestly. "I was thinking that even though she's gone, I still love her."

Her eyes fill with heartbreak and tears. It breaks my heart that she looks that way.

"I was also thinking about how she'd want me to be happy. And right now, I couldn't be happier. Happier than I ever thought I could be again."

Her heartbreak turns into love and the tears turn to one's of joy. Her eyes, curiously, looked as if she were fighting with herself over something.

"I have to tell you something about Lucy," she says, her voice barely audible. "She's not dead."

"What?" I feel my fingers flinch instinctively towards my 'friends.'

"She took the arsenic but it didn't kill her. It left her mad. I let you assume that she was dead because, to her, you were. She couldn't remember you or your pretty little Johanna. She couldn't do anything. I couldn't let you go through the pain because she was worse than dead," she said, her tears spilling over.

"Oh." That's all I can say. The Lucy I left behind was dead. The man she knew was dead too. I do love Mrs. Lovett, but she lied.

I look at her. She was staring at me, awaiting my reaction. I think for a little longer. I look back at her. Her face is barely an inch from mine. I close that distance. She seems as shocked as I am. We break apart.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," she says, snuggling into my chest.

I wrap my arms around her protectively, instinctively. I feel consciousness slowly slipping away. For the first time in fifteen years, I can sleep.

**So…………………………….. What'd ya think? Please tell me! Bonus points to those who review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay. So the ending sucked. I decided to add another chapter. Maybe it will make it better. Maybe it'll make it worse. I don't know, but I DO care. So let me know if it sucks!**

**Disclaimer: Again, why do you feel the need to point out that Johnny will never be mine?! **

**This was supposed to be added sooner, but I get confused and distracted really ea- oh, look a bunny!**

I woke with a start. I look around my room. The damn chair sitting there without a drop of the judge's blood on it, the picture of my darling Lucy holding Johanna, smeared with a stranger's blood, the box full of my friends. Two are missing.

I look down. A gash across my arm makes my stomach churn. My sleeve is coated with my blood. There's a small cut on my stomach; it matches the tear of my now half red nightshirt. I look around my bed. Just me and my friends. No Nellie Lovett. I smack myself mentally for feeling a twinge of sadness. You love Lucy, I discipline myself. There would be no thought of my baker, neighbor. I sigh. I get up to clean my cut off with a nearby bucket of water. I drop it and, unfortunately, it makes a huge crash.

"Shit," I mutter. I pick up the now empty bucket.

"Great. Now I've got to refill it," I mumble angrily. I pick up the bucket, wincing in pain. Wrong arm.

I trudge downstairs, and turned the knob to the pie shop. Locked. Damn, I think. I knock really loudly.

I see a shadow move across the dark shop. I hears the doorbell jingle as she looks out the wrong door.

"Wrong door, Mrs. Lovett," I say loud enough for her to hear, and the door opens. She is shocked at my presence, and tries quickly to hide.

"Mr. T! You scared the hell out of me! After the banging from upstairs, I thought someone was trying to break in," she quickly says. I scowl. She needs to slow down for anyone to understand her.

"I dropped a bucket of water. I need to refill it," I say slowly, enunciating, hoping she gets the message.

"Of course," she says, ushering me in. Apparently, my thoughts didn't get through to her. I walk to the sink to refill my bucket as she lights a few lanterns. Once the room is dimly lit she turns to me and gasps. I follow her line of sight to my arm. I swear, that woman has eagle eyes.

"Mr. Todd, what happened to your arm?" she demands. I turn to avoid her question. Plus the bucket was overflowing. I still don't answer. I don't really like talking to Mrs. Lovett. I know she loves me already; why else would she cut up the people I kill into pies and then help me dump the bones and miscellaneous body parts into the river? Because she hates me? I doubt it.

"Mr. T, can you hear me?" Her shrill voice penetrates her thoughts. Still not answering her, I turn to leave with my bucket of water. I'm half-way out the door, she grabs the back of my shirt.

"I'm not letting go of you until you tell me what's wrong," she says pulling my shocked self back into the room. I sigh furiously and sit in the same spot I sat in the first day I got here.

"Ifellasleepwithmyrazorsopenonmybed," I mumble. I don't even understand it.

"Well, let me help you clean your arm up," she says. My jaw drops slightly at the fact that she could understand my gibberish. Must be because she talks so damn fast. She leaves and comes back with some gin and bandages.

"Gin's for the pain, love," she adds, and pours me a glass. I just stare at it. "You're supposed to drink it." I glare at her, which she ignores. She starts to roll up my sleeve to try to get to the gash, nut it's too high up. She looks up at me with her warm chocolate eyes. Stop it! I yell at myself.

"Off with the shirt love," she states simply. I give her an are-you-insane look. She sighs. "You need to take off your shirt so I can clean your stupid cuts."

I try to stare her down in protest but she wins. I take off my shirt with a sigh. I see a blush creep up on her neck and face. I feel a smile start to form. At least this is uncomfortable for her.

She tenderly cares for the wounds. I just watch her. She would have made a great mother if Albert wasn't such a bastard. A thought of the judge pops up at the word bastard which brings on a loop of Lucy memories. Guilt overwhelms me, which in turn makes me flinch and wince from pain. A low, angry growl rises from my throat.

"It'll hurt worse if you move." She keeps her attention on my wound. She finishes up after a few more minutes. She kisses the bandages. I look at her questionably.

"Don't you know a kiss makes everything better?" she says. She leans in to kiss my forehead. I can't help myself. I crane my head to kiss her exposed neck. Instant regret. She looks at me curiously. I grab my shirt and run upstairs. Screw the bucket; my arms fine now. I slam my door so she knows not to bother me.

I flop on my bed. Again regret. The razors are still there and open. I cry out in pain as they sliced my back. I feel the warm liquid spreading across my back. I feel dizzy. The last thing I hear is a few rushed footsteps on the stairs.

When I woke up, I was laying on my stomach. And on the floor. I don't feel like my shirt is on, but there's a cool sensation on my back. I try to look around but a hand stops me.

"No, you don't. You've got cuts all over your back, and I don't want you to see all the blood," she says. For a person who kills people for enjoyment, I'm squeamish when it comes to my own blood.

"So are you going to say something now?" she asks conversationally. "No? Alright then. With you I'm used to the silent treatment." She sighs sadly.

I feel a little bad now. I realized that I hadn't said a word to her all night (well, an intelligible word anyway), even with all the kindness she's shown me.

"Thank you Mrs. Lovett," I start. It kind of starts to bubble up. I can't stop it. "Thank you for taking care of me when I clearly don't deserve it. Just remember that no matter how I act around you I will always be grateful for all of the kindness you have shown me."

I feel a drop of water fall onto my back. Since I'm not allowed to move I can only assume she's crying. Joyfully, I hope.

"There," she finishes bandaging my bloody back. "All done."

I get up and turn to face her. I was right. There are lines of tears falling from her eyes. I take her face in my hand, and gently wipe the tears away with my thumb.

"Mrs. Lovett, why are you crying?" I ask as tenderly as possible.

She shakes her head out of my hand and brushes the tears away quickly. "I'm not crying," she mumbles.

"Yes, you are. Were," I correct myself.

"What you said, it was just so sweet," she looked up at me again, her eyes boring into mine. "How do you feel about me?"

I feel my breath catch in my throat. I can't answer. I get up and walk over to the ceiling window. I hear her shuffling about, cleaning the mess that I made. That is what she always does. The door opens and before it shuts I mumble a few words.

She stops dead in her tracks. "What?"

"I said 'leave me alone, please,'" I say. They aren't the same words that I said before but I just couldn't repeat them. I hear her say her goodnights, but I speak again before it shuts.

"Mrs. Lovett?"

"Yes?" she reenters the room.

"Stay here," I say, turning to her. The look on her face is fantastic.

She recomposes herself and manages to squeak out a 'what?'

"Stay here," I say slowly, "What will people say if they see you walking out of here at this hour of the night? Just stay here. With me."

She seems frozen. For once she's speechless. She eventually moves and sits in the chair. She closes her eyes and breathes deeply. I walk over to my bed and watch her. She's very beautiful. The dream from my previous night floods my mind. The kiss from earlier comes back too. I push them away and walk over to the chair with the sleeping woman in it. I circle it. I'm not sure why. She stirs and mumbles my name. Benjamin. I freeze. She looks up at me.

"What are you doing?" she says sleepily.

"Nothing. Thinking. Going to bed," I ramble off excuses.

She just sighs and falls back into her deep sleep. I do actually go to bed. I don't sleep. I stare at her again. I don't know how long passes. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? She starts shivering. I'm thrown. I don't know what to do. I very well can't let her freeze. I walk over and pick her up. I carry her to my bed and set her under the covers. I crawl in too. She's like ice. I wrap my arms around her.

"Mr. T?" Her voice startles me.

"Yes?"

"What am I doing in your bed?" she asks dreamily. It doesn't really sound like she's complaining.

"You were cold. I was afraid you'd freeze."

"Thank you. I love you," she mumbles falling back to sleep.

I kiss her crazy hair. "I love you, too." I fall into a dreamless sleep, for which I'm extremely grateful for.

**Did he seem more in character this time? If he didn't I'm sorry. I just really didn't like how the last one ended. It was sucky. Please review!**


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